Ethiopia's Tigray rebels claim to have inflicted heavy losses on army

Ethiopia's rebel Tigray People's Liberation Front claims to have inflicted heavy losses on the country's armed forces. It says it killed 500 soldiers, including two regiment commanders, and wounded 800 others during clashes with federal government troops and allied militia in the northern region. According to the TPLF-affiliated Dimtsi Wayani television station, this took place during During a counter-offensive on Saturday, near the historic town of Axum. The group also claimed to have captured territory and seized weapons, ammunition, food supplies and medical equipment during the confrontation. It accused federal forces of using artillery and drones to support their operations and said telephone and internet services had been disrupted in the area. Ethiopia's government has not commented on the casualty figures, which could not be independently verified. The clashes follow weeks of escalating fighting in northern Ethiopia that have heightened regional tensions between Addis Ababa and neighbouring Eritrea and Sudan.